Google Inc. topped the Deloitte & Touche, USA, LLP's list of fastest-growing tech companies in North America. The annual ranking, released last week and based on revenue growth over five years, pegged Google's revenue growth rate at 437,115%, with revenue of $962 million in 2003 compared with $220,000 in 1999.
The recognition appears well-earned given the search company's earnings report last week: record revenue of $805.9 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 105% year over year.

Only two of the top 10 companies on the list have appeared on it in previous years. TheraSense Inc., now part of Abbott Laboratories, ranked No. 1 in 2003 and is No. 2 this year. Cardiac Science ranked No. 417 in 2002, No. 107 in 2003, and fourth this year.

The ranking includes public and private companies in communications and networking, computers and peripherals, Internet, life sciences, semiconductors and equipment, and software.

"We're pretty happy about the ranking as we believe it substantiates the business model and methods that we've employed since our outset," Tamim Mourad, CEO of No. 5-ranked PriceGrabber.com LLC, says via E-mail. "While many other Internet-only businesses went down the path of simply growing users at ridiculous costs or pursuing cash-out strategies, we've remained 100% focused on the goal of bringing together buyers and sellers and creating an easy-to-use, deep site that focuses solely on the comparison-shopping experience."

Companies making the list tend to be entrepreneurial, driven by an individual or small group of people, says Mark Evans, managing partner of Deloitte's technology, media, and telecommunications group. They've also dealt successfully with the management challenge of rapid growth. "What stands out this year is the life-sciences sector has emerged as the most consistent and significant growth category," he says.

Life-sciences companies accounted for 22% of the list, up from 19% four years ago. Software companies were 38% of the list, down from 48% two years ago.